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I've been saving my husbands soda bottles for just this reason...although I just realized I've been tossing the lids!!! I'm sure I can come up with something though to make it work! Your seedlings look fantastic! =D

This is absolutely brilliant, as is your followup comment about using smaller water bottles! I need to pot up my tomato seedlings so this will be just the thing for them. Thanks a million from Colorado where nothing much is growing in our crazy weather!

I use 1 quart Gatorade bottles and do the same thing. If you threw out the lid it's no big thing, use several cotton balls or a bunched up piece of paper towel, or cotton fabric, or even a piece of sponge to act as an absorber and clog the hole.

It would definitely be a good idea to put something under the cap before puncturing it. We didn't have any problems, but were probably lucky.

I also had been thinking about using an unbleached coffee filter inside the bottle, to hold the soil. This would help the moisture to wick evenly and it would make it very easy to remove the plants if you plan to transplant them into the garden at a later date. I haven't tried it yet though.

Would this concept work for an indoor herb garden on my windowsill? I have a serious black thumb & tried to gorw an indoor herb garden for cooking on my counter with a grow light installed under my cabinets. I grew a little parsley & cilantro, but it never became big enough to clip & cook with. My Rosemary would never grow :-( I just sorta gave up. But I LOVE this concept. Would you recommend the 2 liter bottles for herbs or something smaller?

@Angie-I don't see why it wouldn't work for an indoor herb garden. There's enough soil in each planter (if you use the 2 liter bottles) to keep most herbs happy.

@Jenny-The first time I water them from the top so that the soil gets a good dose of wetness. After that, I lift the top part (with the plant in it) up and pour an inch or two of water into the bottom. As long as the soil didn't completely dry back out, the water will be sucked up into the pot from below. If the soil dries out too much, it breaks the surface tension bond of the water and inhibits capillary action (which is why the whole thing works in the first place), so you would need to water from the top again. Does that make sense? Sorry for the wordy explanation.

Great idea! How often do you have to add water when growing seedlings? Just wondering because I would love tp use these in our summer place, but during spring we only get to visit and water the plants during weekends...

@SweetHarmony: Yes, I have already transplanted the cucumbers. the tomatoes will go outside this week. The root ball slips out of the pot very easily for transplant.

@Anonymous: I only add water when I see that it's close to empty in the bottom basin (every four to seven days, depending on the size of the plant). I try to never let it dry out completely. I bet this method would work well for you, even if you only water once a week. You could cut the bottle so that the lower portion was actually larger (say 70% instead of 50%) and would hold more water wile you're away.

This is a great idea! I potted my seeds up like this just yesterday, but have turned them into little greenhouses as well by using extra bottles. Cutting them in half and using the top half to cover my plants with the lids off. Now just to wait!

WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!! I'm a hoarder and have been keeping plastic bottles for ages for exactly this kind of thing. I started my spring flowering seeds like this now and will keep them in a light, sunny spot until August/September to transplant outdoors. I used cotton shoe-laces and they seem to work wonders. Thanks for sharing, from South Africa!!

This is a great idea! Family has been thinking about building a greenhouse - wow! this will be so much more economical. Especially since I have a sun room. I use the "wicking" system for my outdoor plants in the opposite way. No plant wants to have soggy roots all the time, so after a big rain I lay a piece of string/rope in the saucers leaving the other end on the ground so it will drain my saucers.

Great! This really works well, very informative, thanks for sharing! When plants get bigger then those I found the AQUEOUS planter to be the most effective self watering planter on the market! You can check it out at www.godawn.com

Hi Bloom,thanks a ton for such a wonderful idea! i have experimented with cut bottle as a plant, but I had not thought of having a wick to suck water! do check this link - http://www.caleidoscope.in/eco-ideaz/index.1.html

I really love your site, and this self-watering planter is such a great idea! I’ve already got a few started.

@ ASBloom – the coffee filter trick is wonderful for plants in regular pots, also – keeps dirt from running out the hole(s), also keeps the dirt ball nicely together for transplanting.@ Anonymous, and anyone else interested – the plastic lids off the big Chobani Greek Yoghurt containers make excellent (and attractive) lids for the 2 litre bottles.@ Dad, and anyone else interested – pull off the label as best you can, then fill the jug with the hottest tap water you can get and let it work from the inside to loosen the glue goo – works great! Wash off with Dawn, or something similar.

For plants intended to go outside into the garden, I would recommend ONLY using cotton string or other biodegradable things for the wicks. You don't want to end up with a bunch of nylon/polyester strings in your soil. Yuck! LOL

I also love the idea of using the tops of other bottles to create a mini-greenhouse for increasing the humidity. Ya'll are a bunch of geniuses! =)

agree re using an awl vs a screwdriver. The screwdriver may look fine (although I would be livid if someone used mine like that!!), but the top of it is not designed to be impacted that way, and may chip off. Better to use a hot nail, a cold nail with a hammer (an surface protection if you're working on a marrable surface (or concrete which is also dangerous to work on with impact tools and no safety gear), or an awl.

Instead of lifting the top off every time you want to water, try cutting a small (maybe 1 inch) hole in the side of the water container, not large enough to compromise the stability of the bottle, but large enough to fit the spout of your watering can in. Might also help the bottle breath and discourage mold build-up.

A drill works much better for the caps. Also, you can cut the bottom out of a somewhat smaller bottle and place it inside the top of the planter until the plants reach a couple of inches. It sort of acts as a mini greenhouse by keeping the humidity high which is critical for very young seedlings

a spent (or new) coffee filter will also work to plug the hole if you loose the lid.

This is also a great way for the classroom kids to sprout the seeds they get in their oranges at lunch... most of them are amazed that something that "comes from the store" has seeds that will actually grow. Granted, it has never gone so far as to produce fruit (being hybred, doubt it would) but the "experience" of growing something... watching it... priceless.

Brandie: I'd ask my local garden store expert about timing. I know we can put plants outside much earlier here in Seattle than you would be able to in Minnesota. I wouldn't want to give you any advice on that.

Just found this site today on fb; GREAT idea to start seedlings! Another use I have found for 2L pop bottles is to "plant" them upside down in the garden right beside the tomato plants...minus the bottle caps and with the bottom cut out, leaving some of the bottle up out of the ground. Filling the bottle with water allows the water to get to the root zone of the transplant; I tried some with and some without-huge difference in growth and health of the plants. This way there's no danger of soil fungus splashing up onto the leaves and eventually ruining the crop.

I live in Michigan and have been antsy for a couple of weeks wanting to do something related to gardening. This is an awesome idea. I have a large bay window in the kitchen and it will be full this weekend... This idea was right on time to relieve my "cabin fever" or "winter blues". Thank you so much for the idea!!!

Yes, several variations of the string wick can be used for houseplants. My prayer plants and African violets have loved it for many years. But your seedling tricks are a great new item for my seed starting. Thanks!

I don't have the bottles either, but what I do is use ordinary picnic cups, different sizes. I punch a few holes in the bottom of each cup, put soil and seeds in cups, then I place in a cake pan. I keep water in the cake pan and refill when needed. Working great. I placed in a well lit room. Right now they are about 6 inch tall.

I wanted to start multiple plants so I used small water bottles instead of the large 2 liters. I also used rounded shoelaces for the wicks. It works great! I haven't watered them since I planted them 2 weeks ago and they are already 4'' tall. Thanks for the great project!!

I am wanting to grow my own garden this year but have a few delema's. One is that we will be moving cross country in September. 2 we are renting and I don't want to put the time, energy, and, money into having a proper garden. But I really want some fresh veggies over the summer. I've been saving pop bottles Just for this little garden idea I have in my head. I just have no idea if it will work. I also have been saving milk jugs, which I'm hoping I can use as planters. I was thinking i could just put one plant in each gallon milk jug. Like one lettuce plant in one and one pepper plant in another, and so on. I've also saved some bigger pop bottles and juice containers. Does anyone know if this will work for me? Or have any ideas? Also my last problem is that I don't have any windows that have direct sun light. My biggest brightest window faces eastward so it has morning sunlight but I wouldn't say its direct sun light. Would it be OK to start seedlings in this window? Or my other ideas is to turn my small basement bathroom into a little grow room. Could I buy a light bulb strong enough to provide enough light in a bathroom its very small. Like 3x4. Please advise! Thank you!

This is a great idea! I'm writing a post for my blog on creative seed starting containersand would like to feature this idea and just wanted to make sure it was ok with you.I will of course give you credit and link back to your site.

I am going to use this with my Girl Scout troop - ages 5 through 12. They will make the self-waterers and I'll give them either seedlings (for the little ones who can't wait) or seeds (for the older girls). They will earn a Gardening badge, too!

I'm definitely going to try this! Meanwhile, I've forwarded the entire site to my daughter-in-law, who had mentioned the "possibility" of creating a garden this year! Hoping she's joins the site! I love it!

Watcha mate,I'm living in Cyprus and this is just the job for seeds here. In Blighty(Britain) this would be great too, especially for my Grandkids, they may even take it to school as a project.Here in Cyprus this method doesn't take long. I love it.From CyprusLenny.

I've been looking at ideas for a window herb garden, and this is PERFECT. I'm a student, so a couple times a year I go away for a week or so at a time. I think If I use 2 bottles for each one, I can make them with an extra-large reservoir.

I wonder, do you think certain herbs would work better in this kind of environment than others? Also, suggestions as to the kind of soil to use?

I think this idea is great!! I'm getting ready to try it on my African Violets as well. One of the leaves I've been "starting" in a small glass bud vase has a couple small leaves on the new root system, which indicates it's time to "plant" in A.V. soil! Going to give it a try and then will report my findings here at a later date...thank you for this valuable suggestion of a self-watering bottle/container!

once you plant them in the ground you can put the bottle over top to act like a little green house. When it gets too damp inside you just open the lid and the humidity regulates. This allows you to put out your plants earlier and if it get really cold at night it is really easy to cover with a sheet.

I am wondering do you think this would work for my pineapple tops? Have had them in soil for about 6 months changed the soil because the old soil got a white substance on it and the pots I have them in are 18 inch. But when I took them out to put new soil in they have not grown any new roots. And what do you think about using this as a orchid pot?

I love this idea, cause I want to grow my own herbs, but they need consistent watering-which I usually forget to do! For those inquiring about the Venus Fly Traps, try the idea from others about making a "top" out of another soda bottle, because VFS's like a humid environment. It would sort of be like a terrarium! Hope this helps. This is such a cool idea, I intend to buy some "starter" herbs at the local plant nursery. I'm not so good with seeds....

I just discovered something that maybe nobody has thought of. You know the Gain Dish Washing liquid sqezze bottle has a lid that already has a hole in it. I found out that the lid does fit on the 2 liter bottles. So save the effort of using to drill a hole in the 2 liter bottle lid.

CM,If the string isn't damp, it may not drain properly. Another thing you can try the first time is sticking a toothpick in the hole while it drains. This will allow the water to travel down the toothpick and drip off the end. It has something to do with surface tension. Once it's drained properly the first time and all of the soil/string are wet, it should work great.

I just made a few of these to start cuttings in; geraniums and begonias. Gatorade bottles sit nicely on my window ledge. Over the winter I'll try to propagate some perennial plants from seeds and in the spring I will start my vegetable and annual seeds in them. To everyone who wondered if you could grow plants other than those shown, I say just try it, what have you got to lose - it costs virtually nothing and you learn best by experimenting.

If you push the top(soil loaded part) down into the lower(water basin) part of this project can it create a seal between the two and cause a suction due to the capillary action of the water being pulled up the string that would overcome the capillary action and stop the flow of water?

I do realize that the forces acting here are negligible but i was wondering if anyone could offer some insight to help people solve problems they may be having.

Also, another step that could be taken to speed up the future process of watering might be to use a sharpie and mark a line on the backside of the water basin that indicates the "MAX FILL" for your bottle, so you can quickly go down the line and water all your bottle plants. Most likely an idea for people that have larger numbers of these.

I live in the tropics where the weather hardly gets lower that 30 degrees Celcius. But I've finally managed to start some plants from seeds that require soil temperatures 20-25 degrees Celcius (68 - 77 degrees Fahrenheit)to germinate by replacing the water in the bottom with ice instead. I just replace the ice whenever it melts.

I say, use the 2-litre or you may have to transplant right away. And maybe take your bottles 'round to visit other window sites that get natural light-- or start a few with your kitchen grow light and a few at another spot... in case it's some other "environmental" thing like a cold or warm (heater vent) draft that held 'em back last time. Good luck!

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